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# Trump's Tariffs Lead Canadian Brewers  to Buy Cans from China
- URL: https://bevnews.net/trumps-tariffs-lead-canadian-brewers-to-buy-cans-from-china/
- Published: 2026-09-23T23:54:13.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-23T23:54:13.000Z
- Author: Joel Whitaker
- Tags: tariffs

Part of President Trump's tariff theory is that tariffs will boost American manufacturing. That may be so in some industries, but in the aluminum industry, it's Chinese workers who are benefiting. 

North American can prices have risen nearly 50% since early last year, when U.S. tariffs spiked the cost of aluminum of both sides of the border.

Now, China has a tremendous edge. Factories outside Shanghai are selling cans for about one-third less than the same can in the U.S. On importer and distributor of Chinese cans has seen his business jump 30% since last year. For some can sizes, Chinese prices are roughly equal to what U.S. prices were before Trump imposed his tariffs.

(I wonder if Xi JinPing, who serves as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and the president of China, will thank Trump when the two meet at the White House Thursday.) 

Walkerville Brewery, Windsor, Canada, has so far increased on everything from the apple juice used to make cider to the aluminum cans on which it's packaged. “We’re going to have to increase the prices I think in the next three or four months. But we’re trying to hold the prices,” owner Mike Brkovich said.

When the latest round of trade talks broke off, Tump imposed tariffs of up to 50% on Canadian products. Canada responded with equal tariffs on U.S. products.

This is a problem because while Canada smelts lots of raw aluminum, it doesn't have the domestic facilities to process and make standard tallboiy cans entirely on its own. Instead, raw aluminum is sent to the U.S. where it is processed into can sheet. Then the finished cans are shipped back to Canada for filling. 

This integrated cross-border supply chain means that the percentage of beer cans that are completely made start-to-finish in Canada is clos to zero. Tariffs have pushed up the cost of cans about 11%,

As has been true in other areas, Chinese producers are quite willing to step into the breech. Their cans are "materially cheaper" even after shipping.

Canvas Craft, a Britiah Columbia digital can printing company that previous relied entirely on North American suppliers now sources half its empty beverage cans from China